Glad that's over

This morning, I was feeling really nervous and anxious about telling my boss the news, so I decided to just take a deep breath and do it (I wasn't originally planning to tell him until next week).  It went surprisingly well.  My boss and I have had 'issues' lately where I feel like I have been treated very unfairly over the last year or so, so I was feeling very strongly that I should tell him my news before my annual appraisal meeting, which is supposed to be any day now.

Well, as soon as I told him, his face lit up and he congratulated me.  I am so relieved!  He said we'll figure out over the next few months how to distribute my workload.  He also said he'll leave telling everyone else up to me whenever I feel it is appropriate.  I said I would tell everyone over the next week or 2.  We have our annual general meeting next Friday (June 1st), so I am thinking that would be a good opportunity since everyone will be together, so I won't have to tell everyone separately.  And, that will officially be my first day of the 2nd trimester, so good timing.  I'm a little nervous telling everyone before we've heard the heartbeat, but really, I'm sure everything is fine.  If it wasn't, I'd have symptoms by now.  I'm taking my growing belly as a good sign!

One week left in the first trimester - hard to believe it's been 8 weeks since we found out.  How we've kept it a secret this long is beyond me.  At playgroup yesterday (with my church mommy friends), one of them said to me "so, you think you'll have more kids?" and I responded with the vague "yes, someday" kind of answer.  I can't wait to share the news at the next playdate in a couple weeks (we have them every other Wednesday morning).

12 weeks!

Yay! We are just a couple weeks away from telling the world! I may tell work next week, I'll see how it goes. Our appointment to hear the baby's heartbeat is in less than 2 weeks; I can't wait!!!

I am starting to feel better now. The queasiness isn't nearly as severe and I am starting to get some energy back too. I think I am really starting to show now, so I'm sure people won't be surprised when I share the news. One woman in my small group at church ran into my mom at an event last week and said to her "C is expecting, isn't she" more of a statement, not a question. My mom didn't know what to say, so this lady said "I figured she wasn't telling people yet". My mom said I would be annoucing this at the end of the 1st trimester, so in a couple of weeks. This lady said she could tell that I was pregnant. Now, she is a doula, so her whole career is based on pregnancy, so I'm sure she is very in tune with women's shapes, etc.

I had a wonderful long weekend at the cottage - we were there from Saturday morning until yesterday afternoon and it was glorious! I didn't want the weekend to end!

11 weeks!

Only 29 weeks to go! :)

I'm getting closer and closer the end of the first trimester.  I can't wait until we hear the baby's heartbeat!

On the weekend, I got out all my maternity clothes and tried everything on.  Most things fit, which is good.  Everything except for 3 pairs of pants fit, so I'm happy with that.  I realized that this time, I will need more summer stuff (I didn't have any summer stuff last time really) and a couple more pairs of pants.  And a maternity bathing suit.  I was able to get away without one last time since I wasn't big until the fall and winter, but this time, I swim at the Y and intend to do so all through my pregnancy.  Not to mention, I will be big this summer too, so I will need a bathing suit to swim in at the cottage and my parents pool.  So, I am planning a maternity clothes shopping day in June.

I have been feeling a little better this past week.  The queasiness still comes and goes, but I have slightly more energy and the queasiness has been less severe.  So, I think I am starting to feel back to my old self again.  I still go to bed quite early, but I am able to function at work again, so that's good.  There were a few weeks where I felt like I wanted to crawl under my desk and take a nap every afternoon.

Julie is still asking every day "Is the baby out yet?"  Too cute!  I am really surprised that she hasn't spilled the beans to anyone at church or small groups or anything.  Only a couple more weeks to hang onto the secret and then we can start spreading the good news :)

10 weeks!

I'm at 10 weeks as of today!  YAY!  Only 30 weeks to go ;)  Only a few more weeks until I reach the 2nd trimester - officially, that is at 13 weeks, 3 days, so I will get there on June 1st.

I've had an okay week.  I have really been struggling lately with being extremely tired and queasy.  I told a few people at work on Friday since I was supposed to go to a site on Thursday of this week, and I just can't do it given how awful I have been feeling.  So, I told 3 people in total (started with HR), and they all know it is confidential still.  They were all very happy for me and they said it is no problem that I don't go to that site, they will send someone else.  What a relief!

I am really excited for Friday because in our small groups (sort of like a Bible study, only way more fun than that sounds), we finally get to see our music videos!  Each small group made a music video and we finally get to see them all and vote.  One group did Weird Al's "White and Nerdy" - that is going to be hilarious!  I think they are all going to be funny!  Our church is so much fun; I love that place.  I'm so glad we found a church that we enjoy going to and feels like 'home'.

The drama never ends around here!

Yesterday, my parents' dog Koby was very sick.  He was just laying on the ground all day, wouldn't eat his supper, and wouldn't drink anything.  This is very unlike him.  He had killed a groundhog on the weekend, and had some bites from that, so we were concerned that he caught something.  All Koby's shots were up to date, so at least we weren't too worried about something like rabies.  My mom was up all evening last night worried and was afraid to go to bed because she was so concerned.  But, he wasn't whimpering and his breathing was normal, so she was finally able to go to sleep.

She took him to the vet this morning and sure enough, Koby has an infection from the groundhog bites.  They gave him some antibiotics and said he should bounce back within 24 hours.  So, I'm sure by tomorrow, he'll be back to his old self.  My poor mom though, she has been through an ordeal and barely slept last night!  And of course, you always think the worst in these types of situations.

In other news, I am going to tell HR at my office about the pregnancy tomorrow.  I really have to.  I am being sent to a site on Thursday of next week that used to be contaminated and I am really not sure if it is safe for me to go to.  I really don't want to take a chance.  Not to mention with how queasy I've been feeling, I really can't spend a day out in the field right now.  Maybe in a few weeks, but not now. So, I have to come clean because I really can't go to a site that was formerly contaminated.  It has been remediated, but can they really guarantee that is safe for a pregnant woman in the 1st trimester???  Figures, I haven't been to a site in months, maybe longer, and then of course they want to send me NOW.  So, I'm going to tell HR what's going on and we'll go from there.

9 weeks and counting

The baby is the size of a grape this week!

I’m at the point where this doesn’t seem quite ‘real’.  It has been almost 5 weeks since I had a positive pregnancy test and I still have another almost 5 weeks to wait until we get to hear the heartbeat.  That’s a long time to wait!  I guess I just assume that everything is okay in the meantime?  It’s difficult to wait so long!

And the only people that know at this point are family and close friends.  So, I am excited to be able to tell the world!  We’ll be making this public after we hear the heartbeat, which should be at our appointment on June 4^th.

I have been feeling very queasy lately.  The last 3 days or so have been the worst so far.  My midwife says the sickness usually peaks around 8 or 9 weeks and then starts to get better.  So, anytime now!  I have also been completely exhausted.  I had to nap on both Saturday and Sunday just so I could feel like a human again.  I have been going to bed between 8:30 and 9pm every night and I still find it hard to get up at 6am for work.  I hope I get some energy back soon!  I remember with Julie, I was really tired in the 1^st trimester, but felt great in the 2^nd.

I am also very busy right now at work and with my courses.  I have one large assignment for my current course I need to get done tomorrow.  Then, on the weekend, I will have to do next week’s work since I need to spend next Monday and Wednesday studying for my midterm on Wednesday evening.  I will be relieved when my exam is over!  My next course starts on the 11^th, so I will be taking 2 at once after that.  Needless to say, I won’t be taking another course on until July when my current one is wrapping up.  3 at once would be too much – 2 I can hopefully handle.  We’ll see!

Battle of the bump

Well, I don’t have a bump yet, but my waistline is definitely changing/growing! This morning, I couldn’t get my 2nd pair of jeans done up. I still managed to wear them with a rubber band through the button hole. So, that leaves me with 1 pair that I can still zip up. I guess I’ll have to start wearing my dress pants more since those are looser to begin with. I may have to break out my maternity pants this weekend! As of today, I am at 8 weeks in my pregnancy. I can’t wait until we get to the end of the 1st trimester and I can start telling people!

First appointment with midwife

We had our first appointment this morning. We have a new primary midwife this time since our primary from last time is no longer at the practice. And our secondary one from last time has holidays booked around our due date, so she can't be our primary one this time either. So, we have someone we have never met before. She seems very nice though. And very knowledgeable - she was an obstetrical nurse for 18 years before she was a midwife and has been a midwife for over 10 years. So, very experienced. We're not sure who our second and third midwives will be at this point, we will find that out later on.

Our next appointment will be in early June (don't have it booked yet since their appointment calendar didn't go that far). By then, I will be at around 14 weeks, so we will be able to hear the heartbeat. After that appointment, it will be time to start telling people! Can't wait! I may tell my work in late May though - I will wait and see. I am already finding that my clothes don't fit as well, so I may have to break out my maternity pants soon - or at least find one of those band things that allow you to extend the waist of your current pants. It's tricky. I am still at least 6 weeks away from telling my workplace, but I may start showing before that! I guess I will just play things by ear. I can always tell HR early since heaven forbid, if I had a miscarriage, I would be telling her anyways since I would want a few days off work.

Awesome weekend!

We had a great time sharing the news with our families on the weekend. Julie wore her 'I'm the big Sister' shirt with pride and told everyone "I'm going to be a big sister!" Everyone is very excited - my dad promptly broke out the schnapps ;)

I got the call this afternoon that we got a spot with the midwives. So, I am very happy about that! Our first appointment is next Monday, so I will be at almost 7 weeks by then.

The Big Egg Hunt on Saturday was a HUGE success! Thousands of people came - it was a great day. Another successful event for our church!

Busy weekend ahead!

It's going to be a busy and exciting weekend! I have no idea how I have been able to keep this secret for the last week, but we are finally sharing the news with our families this weekend! My family tomorrow and hubby's family on Sunday (which also happens to be hubby's birthday). Going to be awesome!

Saturday is our church's second annual Big Egg Hunt. This year, we have twice as many eggs as last time - we have over 20,000! Last year, we had 3,000 people out to the event - who knows how many we will have this time! The event is better advertised this time, so we could have tens of thousands of people, who knows! It is a free event we put on for the people of our City. Just a 'no strings attached' way to give back and show God's love.

It has been confirmed!

I just got back from my appointment. Turns out they don't take blood to confirm the pregnancy, they do a urine test. So, we did that and it came back positive. So, it's official now! YAY! I go back again in a month to have a whole bunch of blood work, etc. As soon as I got home, I called the midwives since I know you have to call very early to get a spot there. So, she took all my information and will call me in about a week to let me know if we got a spot.

I can't wait until Friday when I can share the news with my family!

So it begins

I have been feeling very nauseous over the last few days. I think I have had more queasiness so far than my entire pregnancy with Julie! Or maybe I just don’t remember that from last time ;)

I have an appointment to see my doctor this afternoon to have the necessary tests done to get this confirmed. I am hoping I can get the results within a few days so we can tell our families this weekend. We bought a T-shirt for Julie that says “I’m the Big Sister”, so we’re going to let her make the announcement!

I can’t wait to get confirmation on this; maybe then it will feel more real. I still feel like I am dreaming this whole thing up!

In other news, there has been an interesting development in the lawsuit. The next step is to go through examinations, which could happen as early as 3 weeks from now. This is sort of a turning point since that would cost a lot more money. Our lawyer wrote my uncle's lawyer and basically told him that if he drops the suit now, we won't go after our costs, but if he continues, we will be seeking our costs for the entire time. So, if my uncle stops now, we won't go after him for the money we have already paid the lawyer, but if he keeps going, we'll be going after all our costs, which could be tens of thousands of dollars. My uncle must realize by now that his chances of winning are slim to none (he has seen all our documents).

So, last week, my mom got a call from a mutual friend between my uncle and her. He had been talking to my uncle and my uncle expressed a sense of urgency that we need to talk about things and see if we can come to some sort of settlement. This is the best news we've had since the lawsuit was launched! I think this would be a really good time to talk things over and see if there is some sort of compromise that we can all live with. We believe that we would win if this case went all the way, but we are not keen on going through a few more years of this if we don't have to. So, we are open to talking about things, provided we get the necessary guidance from our lawyer and the discussions take place with the assistance of a professional mediator. So, the friend was going to relay that to my uncle and we'll see what he says. I would be so happy if we could settle this and be done with it! I'm not holding my breath, but maybe my uncle really is starting to realize he doesn't have a chance.

This will have to wait

I just called my doctor's office to see if I could get in today to have this confirmed, and his office is closed this week. They re-open on Monday morning. So, I will call first thing on Monday to see if I can get in on Monday afternoon. I should be able to get the results by Wednesday or so - I really want to tell my family on Good Friday and CT's family on Easter Sunday!

We're expanding!

We are expecting our second child! I took a pregnancy test this morning and it came back positive! I will try to get in to see my doctor to have this confirmed tomorrow. But, I am quite certain I am pregnant since my period is 3 days late and I had a positive result on a home pregnancy test (two actually, I took one yesterday (cheapie) and another one (digital) this morning - both were positive). The digital one even tells you how far along you are - so I am 2-3 weeks after conception, so 4-5 weeks total.

We are excited! Based on an online due date calculator, it appears as though we will be having a holiday baby with the due date in early December. So, baby #2 and J will be almost 4 years apart. Perfect spacing I think since J will be at a good age to 'help' with the baby.

This is still on the DL for now - we are planning to tell our families at Easter since everyone will be together. That gives me a week to see my doctor and get the necessary confirmation on this before we tell our families. So, you ladies are the only ones who know this besides me and hubby! So, this is strictly confidential at this stage; but I had to let you gals in on this!

The end of an era

Yesterday, I said goodbye to Zeke – my 2001 Toyota Rav4 that I have had for 11 years. We decided to upgrade to a larger vehicle; it was time. I sold Zeke to my brother Alex, so at least Zeke gets to stay in the family! Alex and his wife are very excited to have Zeke; I am thrilled they wanted him because I really didn’t want to see him go to a stranger. I sold Zeke to Alex for the same price that the dealership offered me for a trade in value (which was probably half of what I thought he was worth), so Alex gets him for an awesome price and it’s no different to us financially than if we traded him in. So, it’s a win-win for everybody!

Our new vehicle is a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT. It’s pretty sweet! It has the full Stow n Go seats, which are awesome. It’s got so many cool features – and so much easier to fit Julie’s car seat into. We picked it up last night. It doesn’t have a name yet, but I’m sure we’ll name it soon ;)

*Hopefully* the worst is over

So, things have been going slightly better at work lately. I had an unpleasant meeting with a client earlier this week, but I was able to get through it. I was upset that my boss wasn’t able to be there, so I had to do the meeting by myself. The client is very mad and upset, so that wasn’t fun to deal with. But, it’s over now.

I was talking to one of my friends at church on Sunday and he told me he got a big promotion at his company and they are looking for more people in his group. I told him a little bit about how unhappy I have been here, so he wants to talk to me about possible opportunities there. It’s the same company I did 3 of my co-op terms with in school – the only reason I didn’t apply there earlier is I really don’t like the president of the company – I don’t think he’d be much better than my current boss. But, my friend said he is the ‘shield’ between any employees in his group and the president, so maybe that would work out okay. I will definitely take him up on his offer to talk more – can’t hurt to find out more about it and see if that might be a good ‘change of scenery’. It would be nice to have another option in my back pocket in case things get bad here again. He was horrified when I told him a little bit about what I have been expected to do here with no help or guidance. He told me it has taken him months and months to develop his skills with these software programs. I was expected to learn them and be an expert instantly.

I have been enjoying going to the Y – I think that has been a good way to combat some stress. I enter the pool all stressed and mad and then get out of the pool all relaxed. Maybe next time I’ll try the hot tub too!

Things not much better

So, things got a lot worse since my last post. To the point that I started getting stomach pains over the stress and ALMOST made an appointment with my doctor. I did talk to HR again though and was very clear that I am at my wit’s end and completely burned out and overwhelmed. But, since then, things seem to be getting better. I have one huge project submitted, so that feels really good. My mentor told me that site was only the 2nd most complex site he has seen in his 25+ year career. So, obviously it was a heck of a one for me to work on as a beginner in this field! He said he was going to email my boss and the PM to let them know just how complex it was – I think they may actually listen to him since they don’t seem to be getting it when I tell them how complex it was.

My mentor invited me (and hubby and daughter) over for lunch after church on Sunday. He offered to talk to me about workplace stress since he has dealt with it a few times in his career (once it got so bad he had to take medical leave for a summer!). So, I was completely honest with him about how things are going and that I am concerned for my health at this point.

I also joined the YMCA since physical exercise might be a good way for me to combat the stress. So, I went for the first time on Wednesday and I am going again tomorrow. I’m going to try to go at least twice a week on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. If I can go more often, great, but that will be my minimum.

Also, my mom and I had a meeting with our lawyer on Thursday. Basically, since all the documents have been received, we know that my uncle doesn’t have a case. But, he wants to proceed anyway. I think he is hoping to drag this out so long that we’ll have to give in because we can’t afford to keep paying to fight him. So, we’re thinking at this point about whether there may be opportunity for settlement. We are open to some possibilities and want our lawyer to ask his lawyer if my uncle has any suggestions for a reasonable resolution. If we are going to settle, now would be the time to do it before things get a lot more expensive. If there is no settlement, then we need to go through examinations, which will likely cost us another $5,000.

We had a meeting yesterday with my brothers to talk about how they feel. Surprisingly, we are all on the same page where we would be open to some sort of compromise. We have realized that sharing the cottage with our cousins would not work since we are afraid they would sabotage, etc. We would rather not have to go through all that stress.

So, we’ll see what happens. We are praying that my uncle will be reasonable. I’m hoping we can reach some sort of settlement. He has got to realize that is better for him than continuing since he will only lose in the end. We just can’t afford to keep fighting for much longer – our lawyer costs $350/hour!

Nearing the end of the month

The first couple of weeks of January went quite well (compared to December, which was hell). Then last week, things got very stressful again. But, I managed and there were no tears shed, which is improvement. It meant I had to work a bunch of extra hours, but I did what I needed to. And instead of thanking me for my effort, my boss thanked another guy for staying a couple of hours late one night to get the drawings done for one of the projects I’m working on. I laughed out loud when my boss thanked that guy and not me. He thanks him for putting in an extra 2 hours, but I get no thanks for putting in an extra 9 hours that one week when I have a toddler and child care arrangements to juggle? GRRRRR!

If it weren’t for the mentorship they are providing me, I would be outta here in a heartbeat. But, I am learning a lot from my mentor and am gaining valuable skills, so I want to stick it out here for at least a couple more months so I can learn all I can from my mentor.

In my meeting with my boss last month, he said probably 5 times during the meeting that the mentor is here to mentor the company, not me. So, that was drilled into my head. Then, I found out last week that the mentor said no to mentoring the company and only wanted to mentor me. Ha! Too bad for the company, but awesome for me!

In other news, our basement renovation is in full swing. We were originally planning to wait until spring, but my dad is off work right now and will be busy in the spring, so we decided to make use of his free time while he has it! So, he has been working on our basement for the last week and a half and we’re at the stage now where it is being primed. So, the painting can start early next week, most likely! I am hoping to have it almost done in time for Julie’s 3rd birthday party next weekend so we can show people.

When we bought the house, the basement was unfinished. We are finishing one area of the basement to make it into a home office. It will become my office if I decide to proceed with my own business.

Then eventually (as in sometime in the 5 years) we will finish the rest of the basement. Half of the remaining space will be a laundry and storage room and the other half will be a family/rec room. That’s the plan anyways.

For those who are keeping up with the law suit saga, we finally have a copy of my uncle’s affidavit of documents. I had to submit our documents in early December. The deadline was Dec 11, which is a court ordered deadline, so on Dec 12th, our lawyer phoned my uncle’s lawyer to get a copy of his affidavit. He responded with “oh, we haven’t done that yet, we’ll need some more time”. You’ve had months! Really made me mad that he could miss a deadline like that. But, he got his act together and submitted just before Christmas.

So, we got a copy of the documents last week. All in all, he really doesn’t have anything. He has some statements from one select group of Oma’s friends (whom she was estranged from for awhile) which basically explain Oma’s deterioration with dementia. One even went so far as to suggest elder abuse on the part of my mother because she found rotting food in Oma’s fridge once and Oma smelled sometimes. The truth was Oma refused to shower most of the time and my mom did seek help for that very issue from the Alzheimer’s society. I fail to see how that is my mom’s fault. All the statements are dated within a couple days of each other, so I know my uncle solicited those statements. And they are dated the summer of 2009, when Oma was just beginning to seriously deteriorate, so it did take a little time before my mom clued into things and figured out how to handle things.

They also claim that my mom was isolating Oma from her family and friends, which is a total lie. Oma had a very active social life and never declined an invitation from this group of friends. So, I really have no idea how they can claim that. We can prove otherwise.

He also has a hand written note from Oma to her first lawyer stating she wants her Will reverted back to the previous version (i.e. the one Ken wants). But, that letter is not witnessed, so I’m sure my uncle dictated that to her. So, I’m not worried about that.

So, overall, given the evidence, I really think we have a stronger case. We are going to meet with our lawyer on Feb 16th to discuss things and we’ll see what he says.

A new year, new beginning

Well the situation at work got much worse since my last post. December was an awful month at work with many tears and me wanting to storm out and quit. I felt like I was being blamed for things that weren't my fault and I basically felt completely incompetent, which is not a feeling I am used to!

I decided to talk to one of my coworkers about this in mid-December. He is one of the 4 senior managers, so he has lots of 'pull' in the company and he and I have been friends since I started 8 years ago. So, he is probably the coworker I am most close to. So, I asked him if we could go for lunch and talk. I was completely honest with him about how I was feeling and that I didn't think I was being treated fairly. I also told him I was concerned about being fired over this and he told me that won't happen. So, I was relieved to hear that - I was feeling like I better find another job quickly before they fired me, but knowing that they weren't going to fire me took the pressure off to find something else quickly.

He was very understanding about the whole situation and was completely on my side. He suggested I also talk to the head of HR about my concerns, which I did the following week. She was also very supportive and suggested I meet with the president of the company and another senior PM involved so I could have a chance to voice my concerns because up until that point, I felt like I wasn't being heard. I agreed to the meeting and asked that the head of HR also be present.

So, that meeting happened the Tuesday before the Christmas break. What an awful experience. This was a meeting I called - it started out well, I had notes about what I wanted to say, so I was able to get through all that. Although, I still don't think they really got it. Then the meeting basically turned into a discussion of my weaknesses and resulted in me being demoted - again. I am now in the same position I was 8 months ago before my big promotion last May. I left that meeting feeling completely deflated and like a piece of garbage. I think they need to learn how to manage people better because you don't just beat someone down and then end the meeting. I am willing to accept criticism, but they should have ended the meeting on a high note. Instead, I left feeling completely useless and went to the bathroom and cried.

Over the Christmas break, I decided to just put that all behind me and start fresh in January. I made myself a deadline of the end of January to see if things can turn around a little bit or not. If I am still miserable at the end of the month, I will seriously consider other employment options. As of the end of December, they have hired a mentor for me on a casual, as-needed basis and he is the in town guru in this subject area (and I worked with him for 3 co-op terms and he and his family also go to our church, so I do already know him). So, I am feeling hopeful that things can turn around. If not, I can leave with no regrets or guilt because I don't owe them anything.

I know I can't go on like things were in December - I was crying all the time and completely miserable to the point I dreaded going into work.

Onto happy things - we had a great Christmas. Julie was so excited and everyone spoiled her. I was spoiled too - Carlos bought me a blackberry playbook and then I bought myself a Kobo on Boxing Day since it was an awesome deal. I love both my new gadgets ;)

I can't believe how much Julie is growing up. She will be 3 in less than a month! She amazes me with her vocabulary every day! As much as I hate my job these days, I keep trying to focus on the fact that my most important jobs are being a wife and mother, so Carlos' and Julie's opinion of me is WAY more important than my boss. It's just a job - Carlos and Julie are my life.

A resolution

After 3 weeks of feeling like I didn't matter and no response to my letter, the head of HR (who also has been a friend of mine for over 10 years), asked to speak with me about my letter. So, we had a chat and I told her how I felt. I ended up crying, but it wasn't a big deal since she is a friend. She took my concerns very seriously and said all the stuff my boss should have said about how much they value me, etc.

So, another 10 days went by and finally my boss asked to speak with me. So, this was a full month after our first meeting. He said they may not have been fair to me to put this new role on me at this point when I am not working a full load and am trying to balance my home life and work life. And, it was a huge jump in responsibility.

So, he has offered me a new position - Senior Project Coordinator. It is still a promotion from where I was before, but is a step back from being a full PM. I will still do a lot of the same actual work that I am doing now, but there will be someone else actually managing the projects. This is more of a stepping stone to being a full PM where I can slowly ease into that instead of it all being dropped on me at once.

This new position comes with an 11% raise! YAY! So, as a result of Friday's meeting, I was offered a position that is less responsibility and a lot less stress, for more money. Sounds good to me! I am thrilled with the raise - it comes into effect on Monday!

I am hoping this will make me happy with my job again. I am still considering other options, but I will stay at least until I have another mat leave. Then I'll have a year off to make some decisions about my career path. I'm not closing the door on my current company just because of a few bad months, but I am not sure I want to work outside the home 4 days per week after we have 2 kids.